


Cabin by the lake

by MarilynMondongo



Category: Naruto
Genre: Broken kakashi, Crack Relationships, F/M, Non-Explicit, because this couple deserves more attention, broken ino, crack ships, not really romance, short one-shot, they understand each other's pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 01:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15853542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarilynMondongo/pseuds/MarilynMondongo
Summary: Kakashi is running away from his ghosts, she appears in the middle of a storm.





	Cabin by the lake

It was raining when Kakashi woke up.

Little drops tapped gently the window, the noise of water splashing through the glass and the ceiling made him close his eyelids, enjoying the way the air around him carried the smell of the trees, humid grass, and wood. He could live like this, surrounded by the quiet and calmness that the forest provided, where the warmth was muffled by the closeness of the cabin to the lake, and the cold never truly reached him given the endless summer Konoha was subjected to. _He could live like this._

But that did not mean that he was able.

He opened his eyes slowly, sighing or grunting to the ghosts of his responsibilities and thoughts that clouded his briefly calmed mind, refusing to let them settle. He breathed through his nose; the sensitive skin of the tip missed the cloth of his mask, unaccustomed to the nakedness to which it was subjected, he could feel the rosacea not so gently making its way from the tip to his cheeks.

Kakashi stretched his back, the pale skin of his exposed torso making a low noise when moving the sheets that were against it, his hair pressed against the pillow, and after another deep sigh, he considered his options. He could get up and have some breakfast by the living room window, where he could see in fascination how the raining crashed against the lake, interrupting its usual calmness; or he could continue to be lying down, enjoying the pleasure that came with being in horizontal position, trying to go back to sleep.

Both options were plausible and valid, and both of them would give him approximately the same amount of pleasure, which subjected the decision only to what he felt like doing and—

Did everyone think this much while on vacations?

Well, vacation was a strong word to describe his situation, but vacation was better than the alternative.

He decided to get up, only because being lying down was making him think more than he wanted to, and he didn’t want to think at all. The wood floor made a squeaking sound at the weight of his feet, and he dragged himself to the kitchen, where the already made coffee awaited him. Internally, he congratulated himself for leaving the coffeemaker on, enjoying the smell that came out of it; but before he could smile his contempt he glanced at the sink, where a filthy cup –his filthy cup, was tossed, silently begging to be washed. He groaned, good job Kakashi, but he didn’t even bother to clean it properly, rinsing it lazily. The white porcelain still had some brown lines, a product of the previous day’s cappuccino, but its interior was usable enough.

He walked towards his discovered favorite spot inside the cabin, an enormous window with some sort of internal balcony full of cushions to sit, probably Shikamaru’s own doing. The rain still poured outside, gently, but consistent; damping everything he could see and probably beyond.

As he expected, the view took his breath away.

The usually calm lake moved imperiously, the water reaching much farther than it used to on the coast; water rings were generated everywhere and were broken by other rings that wanted to take their place, brown leafs moved around the surface with more partners arriving –almost raining, too; and the usually soft green color of the grass and tree cups was now obscured, darkened.

He could smell them; the gray huge sky encompassing it all.

Kakashi sipped his coffee and scrunched his nose at the lack of warmth in the beverage, silently scolding the machine with narrowed eyes, but he didn’t move, he was comfortable with his back against one of the walls on the side of the window, one of the carmine cushions between his legs, contrasting with his gray gym pants, the glass was touching his right shoulder, but despite the cold sensation he knew that it was almost hot outside.

He really wished he could live like this.

But alas, they wouldn’t let him to.

He supposed that it was what he got for being so good at his job, but frankly, it didn’t feel like a prize at all.

Outside, the sun started to peek from behind the curtains of clouds, and the entire space seemed to glow, the water still pouring, reflecting the intangible golden rays that showered them. There was going to be a rainbow, somewhere, maybe behind the cabin, where the window didn’t reach for him to see; and he contemplated if moving or not because he did not believe himself worthy of such magnificent luminosity.

Pretty, gray scenes suited him better.

He wondered absently if people saw him the way he felt, or if he was really good at hiding his thoughts. He wondered if people felt pity for him, knowing about his rough childhood and even rougher adulthood, if people told partially-invented stories about him if they saw him worthy enough to…

He clicked his tongue and told himself that he didn’t care what they thought.

Kakashi glanced at the abandoned cold coffee, wondering if he was really ready to become what they asked him to, if he was ready to leave behind his soon to be ex-jönin title, and it didn’t surprise him to find out that he wasn’t.

He thought too much, he realized just now in the quiet of the place, he couldn’t choose an option with the required determination because each of them seemed plausible enough, it was easier to let people decide for him, leaving him the task of just fulfilling.

Raising his head, he looked once again to the still pouring rain.

And yes, maybe he did not deserve it, maybe he wasn’t worthy, and it was a time where he wouldn’t let himself contemplate it, but now, right now, in the calmness of his solitude, he will allow his eyes to see the rainbow.

He didn’t bother to put his sandals on or covering himself with a T-shirt, walking slow enough to make himself reconsider, but when the doubt didn’t settle, he opened the front door.

With a creak, the door opened, and he was received by the outside with a whoosh of fresh air.

“Well, look who it is.”

He almost dropped the cup at the sound of the voice, and the only thing that stopped him from killing her was the sudden recognition. He glanced at his right, where the lake could be seen and, there, sitting on one of the fences that surrounded the porch was one of the persons he -truly- never thought about twice.

She was soaked, dressed in what he believed was a cream woven sweater, one of her shoulders exposed, one leg braced against her chest, gently surrounded by her arms, while the other hung.  
  
“The man everyone is talking about,” she continued unaware of his scrutiny. “You almost give me a heart attack.”

Kakashi did not respond, offended by the sudden interruption of his solitude and he denigrated her, watching her from top to bottom.

Ino didn’t seem fazed by his rudeness, although her expression became imperceptibly somber, the lack of brightness in her eyes the only thing that gave her away; she did not talk again, and with a single blink of her eyes, she looked away, facing the part of the woods in front of the cabin.

Kakashi was remembered suddenly of his exposed torso when another brush of air touched his skin, and settling the cup in the floor, he retreated to his room, where he put the white t-shirt he wore the previous day, not caring if it smelled, and his mask. She had seen him without it, something he did not feel comfortable with, and he refused to give her a better view of it, allowing her to remember it.

When he got out again Ino was in the same position, but now her chin was resting on her knee, she did not acknowledge him; her eyes focused intently in something between the trees, blinking slowly, the sound of the rain and her wetness making her shiver.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, scolding himself absently for not offering her a blanket, the folds of two wooden boards where they joined subtly annoying his back, like a chastiser.

“What are you doing here?” He asked irritated, looking at the ceiling of the porch.

For a moment, the only response he got was the sound of the woods and water. But then she sighed like she was fighting her fatigue, and he could hear her whisper.

“Same as you, I guess.”

“Hardly.” He replied harshly, and he heard her smile.

“Different reasons.” She responded slowly, her tone flat, expressionless, “same goal.”

Kakashi swallowed and looked at the floor, she wasn’t looking at him, he knew, but he felt watched.

“Shikamaru told me I was going to be alone,” he changed the subject; she didn’t need to be a genius to know the intention behind those words, the silently go away clearly reaching her ears by the way she looked at him from the corner of her eyes.

She shrugged, “oh, he probably would have forbidden me to come,” she paused, “if I had asked him for permission.”

It sounded like she was proud of herself for that fact, but Kakashi refused to look at her or give her the satisfaction. He decided only to roll his eyes and tsiked with his tongue his displeasure.

She tucked a wet lock of hair behind her ear and looked back into the forest, “you won’t know I’m here.”

“I already know.”

She did not respond.

Kakashi sighed and entered the cabin, glancing one last time at the girl sitting on the rail of the porch; he supposed it couldn’t be helped, she didn’t look like she was about to go and he didn’t feel like returning to the place he tried to escape from only to evade one person that wasn’t really trying to bother him.

Without noticing, he walked to the closet where the blankets were.

He was curious about her reason to be here alone. Same as you did not seem like a valid answer, in his opinion, because she couldn’t possibly know what were his motivations to ask Shikamaru for his cabin.

He just needed time, he wasn’t running away.

Probably. Maybe. He didn’t know.

He started to walk towards the kitchen again; if Ino wanted a blanket then she could go home. Kakashi surely didn’t ask her to interrupt him with only a soaked sweater on.

Kakashi froze.

She was with only a sweater on.

Surely she wasn’t assaulted, right? No, she was capable of defending herself and she didn’t look hurt, plus, why would she come here? She would have gone to the hospital or to her house to ask for help. The place was far enough from Konoha to take several hours to arrive, well interned inside the forest within the territory of the Nara clan, she probably knew how to get here given her relationship with Shikamaru –some say they were friends, some swore they sleep or slept together, Kakashi didn’t care-, but she should have left from wherever she was in the middle of the night to get here at this time in the morning.

And she traveled with only a sweater.

Kakashi groaned and returned to the closet, grabbing a blanket hastily and stomping to the porch.

“Here,” he stretched the soon to be coat towards her, and she rewarded him with a raised eyebrow, “you’re wet.” He provided an explanation, and she nodded, taking it.

Suddenly the weight of the silence settled on his shoulders.

Ino appeared to be uncomfortable as well because she quickly looked away. “You don’t need to do this,” she whispered, “I didn’t ask you to be my host.”

He sighed at her annoyance, “relax, is just a blanket.”

She pursed her lips and looked at him again, blushing, “sorry.”

Kakashi just shrugged, unfazed. The quietness interrupted by the rain. He was about to ask her what she was doing here again when she spoke.

“I used to believe that they were magical creatures in the forest when I was little,” she glanced at the woods again. “And that mermaids existed,” she looked at the lake.

Kakashi blinked, a little taken aback by the subject, he opened his mouth to reply something, but nothing came out; he never believed in those things or even really thought about them.

“It was Shikaku’s fault; he was the one that told me the stories.” She licked her lips, “I used to come here a lot…” she glanced at him. “We even made campfires over there,” she pointed at a space in the grass that Kakashi didn’t bother to look. “It was good.” She whispered, and then fell silent.

Kakashi noticed that she didn’t cover herself with the blanket.

He forced himself to look at her eyes, even when she wasn’t looking at him, and he soothed his features, “what are you doing here, Ino?”

She did not seem surprised by his question, and breathed deeply, her chest swelling with air, the movement attracting Kakashi’s attention. He bit the inside of his cheek to not look and concentrated on her face.

“I’m just…” she paused and raised her face, looking him straight in the eyes, “tired.”

Kakashi crossed his arms.

“Pretty sure everyone is tired, Ino.”

“You know what I mean,” she responded without flinching, and Kakashi knew exactly what she was talking about, but he refused to let her know.

Instead, he looked past her, at the lake, and tried to change the subject once again.

“Your friends are probably worried,” he spoke slowly, testing, “maybe you should talk to them.”

She looked like he had slapped her for a second, but her expression changed drastically to one of annoyance, maybe even fury.

“If you want me to go—”

“That’s beside the point, I’m just trying to help.”

She snorted, “please, I don’t think I’m the one who needs help here.”

Kakashi blinked at the response, startled. “What?”

“I'm not the one who disappeared after being told he was going to be the Hokage's successor,” she spat with venom, her cheeks red with what Kakashi assumed was anger.

He narrowed his eyes, “you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“T&I department for your information,” she gripped the blanket until her knuckles were white, “a week, Kakashi, it has been a week.”

Kakashi tried to control himself, he tried to think reasonably, she wasn’t really mad at him, she was just projecting her anger at him because he was the one who had been lucky enough to be here; but still, his chest was burning, his tongue ached with unshared words and the rain still pouring suddenly upset him.

“So? Why do you care about? It’s not like you’re important enough for me to answer you.”

She went pale, “I was important since the moment I born, which you can’t say about yourself.”

Kakashi gritted his teeth, “funny thing you couldn’t keep up.”

“Take that back.” She hissed.

“Why should I?”

“I saved you goddamn life in the war if it wasn’t for me—”

“Oh really?” He said sarcastically, loud enough to muffle the sound of her voice, "might I remind you that you would have died long before the war if I had not gone with you to avenge Asuma?” She started, surprised, and Kakashi went on, “you weren’t strong enough to protect yourself.”

“Fuck you.” She whispered, looking at the ground and trembling, “at least I don’t ruin the lives of everyone around me!”

Kakashi bit his lip and turned his hands into fists, rage was coming from every pore of his skin, and he was controlling himself monumentally as not to hit her.

He only wanted some peace; he only wanted to be left alone. He did not ask for this, he did not want to have this confrontation.

“Well,” he started, Iooking at her legs, “at least I didn’t run off without my clothes on.”

She opened her eyes widely, like she had forgotten about her nakedness until he mentioned it, it made his chest contract with some guilt, but he was far gone now; if she could project her resentment with him, then he could do just the same.

“What is it?” He laughed, “did you fight with Genma? Oh, yes, I know you’re fucking him, everyone knows, to be honest, I’m not even surprised—”

He didn’t realize she had slapped him until his eyes were looking at the wall instead of her, the sound of the hit resonating in his eardrums; and fuck, it hurt like a bitch. She probably reinforced her hand with some chakra to make him regret his words, something that made him curse Tsunade for sharing her knowledge. He bit with his molars, his whole body screaming at him to fucking fight.

“Of course,” she grunted with clear disgust, “of course you’re just like them. Tell me, does it feel good? Comparing yourself to me makes you feel better, uh?!” She screamed, “Hey! Who’s fucking Ino now? Did Ino get pregnant yet?! Hey, Ino is such a slut. Oh, I feel so much better knowing that I’m not LIKE INO.” She made a poor impression of what he assumed were gossipers, throwing the blanket at him.

“Well, FUCK YOU.” She pointed at him, getting off the rail, Kakashi glanced at her from the corner of his eye and just then he saw the short black shorts that she had underneath her clothes. “You're NOT BETTER THAN ME.”

Kakashi breathed; once, twice, letting her words sink in. He had clearly hit the core of the issue, he turned to look at her; her face was twisted with hate, her hands trembling and her body tensed, ready for a fight. She was expecting him to hit her, he was sure, but what surprised him was that it looked like she wanted him to hit her, and the thought made him sad. He took a deep breath to ease the adrenaline running through his body before responding, trying to calm his voice, “are you happy now, Ino? Did you get it out of your chest?”

She froze.

“I –”

She swallowed visibly, looking at him, at the floor, at the cabin’s door; her eyes were frenetic, like her mind was trying to comprehend what was happening, what in the world was stopping him from snap at her.

“No.” She said suddenly, pissed again, “you’re not doing this, I don’t need your stupid pitty, you’re not—”

“I’M NOT BETTER THAN YOU, I KNOW,” he screamed, unable to swallow the resentment that she aroused, “THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT. I AM NOT BETTER THAN ANYONE.”

It felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders, like the hand pressing on his chest released him once and for all and he could breathe again, as if his frantic mind had calmed down, leaving him with the sudden need of cry, and he moaned the release, taking in the freedom.

Ino looked at him, her face twisted with surprise, but Kakashi didn’t care, she could run away for all he cared; he was just glad he had said it at loud; it didn’t fix the problem but god it felt good.

He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to enjoy the calmness.

Then, footsteps.

He opened his eyes quickly and looked at her, his body prepared for another punch, but she raised her hands in a placating gesture, and smiled faintly, trying to soothe him. Kakashi did not relax, of course, but dropped his guard enough for her to stand by his side.

She bit her lower lip, and her eyes became watery but she didn’t cry, which Kakashi was grateful for. Ino raised her left hand towards his face, but before she could make contact with his mask, he grabbed her wrist.

No one spoke in what he believed were a million years.

“I’m sorry I hit you.” She said, her voice calm but her expression full of regret.

Kakashi eyed her wary, trying to look for signs of a trap.

“It’s gonna bruise.” She looked at him, but he didn’t let go.

“Let it.” He deadpanned, not really concerned about it. It still hurt like hell, and tomorrow surely there was going to be a pretty ugly bruise in the place, but there was no way he was going to leave his face exposed to the woman responsible for his pain in the first place.

“I’m trying to help.” She whispered.

“I think you helped enough already.”

Ino looked like she was trying really hard not to cry. “I shouldn’t have…” she looked at the floor making a pause, maybe for him to finally accept her apologies, but he wasn’t going to back down. He was the one with a nasty bruise on his cheek that hurt like hell, Ino could grab her apologies and—

“But you were being an ass.”

The words interrupted his thoughts, and he looked at her, startled, she seriously got the nerve to…

“I beg your pardon?” He squeezed her wrist harder.

She flinched at the pain, but not at his words, her eyes full of what Kakashi knew was stubbornness. “well, it’s true! You didn’t have to say what you—”

“You have the nerve—”

“… And be so damn mean about it, like you were fucking perfect—”

“… You were using me as a punching bag and yet—”

“… Bringing back the worst times of my life—”

“… Just because you’re so damn childish—”

“… And then you just –wait, what –what?!” She interrupted the frenetic discussion they were having without even really listening to each other. “Me? Was I childish? –I was childish?” She put emphasis in the question, pointing at herself with her free hand, “what about you mister I don’t like what you want me to do so I will disappear from the face of the earth without warning anybody?”

“Excuse me?” He narrowed his eyes, “I did tell Shikamaru about—”

Ino laughed a snort, “oh please, telling Shika about it is like whispering a secret to a wall, he probably didn’t even listen to you.”

“Yes, you’re right, I’m sorry I’m not mature enough as the girl who ran off her home with her pajamas.” He retorted sarcastically.

“I'm sorry, did I wrinkled your tuxedo?”

Oh my god! No, he was not having this conversation. “I just woke up!”

“Yes, your breath confirms it!”

He opened his eyes widely, “see? That’s childish, you’re childish, and I was just relaxing here until you showed up!”

“DID I UPSET THE MIGHTY LORD BY COMING TO MY BEST FRIEND HOUSE OH NO,” she poorly faked a sad tone, “and I was minding my OWN business, without bothering you, until you showed up with a stupid blanket, trying to make me leave in THE MIDDLE OF A STORM!”

Kakashi, despite commanding not to, to every cell of his being, blushed.

“I wasn’t trying to kick you out!”

“Oh please—”

“You slapped me!!”

“Well… fine!”

“FINE!”

“ARE YOU GOING TO LET ME HEAL YOUR STUPID BRUISE OR NOT?!”

“OF COURSE YOU’RE GOING TO HEAL IT; YOU DID IT IN THE FIRST PLACE!”

“WELL, LET GO!”

“I’M GOING TO.”

“WELL FINE!”

“FINE!”

He knew he had agreed to Ino seeing his face, and he knew he had subdued himself to her childish games; but he couldn’t help it, he couldn’t help to fight her when she responded like that, and the remembrance of his lame discussions with Obito resurged with the pain of a punch to his face. He tensed at the sensation, but quickly let go of her hand, Ino looked at him, still looking for his permission to touch him, and when he nodded, she lowered his mask roughly, quickly channeling chakra into his cheek. It felt warm, ticklish, pleasantly so; but he couldn’t help but compare her technique to Sakura’s. The chakra felt different, Sakura’s was stronger, a little warmer and steady, like a rock; Ino’s, on the other hand, was staggering a little, as if she could not perfectly perform the technique.

Well, they were only three medics able to perform the jutsu at its perfection, and none of them were Ino.

He was thinking that when he saw her lick her lips, the movement attracting his attention, he glanced at her, fully aware now of how close she was, how her eyes were narrowed in concentration, how her breath was steady, calm, trying to control her chakra neatly as to not burn him. Her hair was still wet, her usually bright blond darkened by the moisture, taking the color of the sand; her skin glowing with the water she never bothered to dry when she arrived at the porch.

“You never tried to come in.” He spoke before thinking, and she scolded him with her eyes, chastising him like a child for moving when she was using dangerous, hard to control and that-can-burn-your-skin-off chakra.

She glanced at his cheek again before answering, “I sensed you.”

He looked at her and breathed her in, she smelled like forest and grass and rain, and just underneath all that, like flowers, like none in particular and all of them together, so softly hidden by the other smells that he would have missed it if he wasn’t really paying attention.

But he was paying attention.

The warm sensation of her chakra disappeared and was replaced by the cold, really, really cold skin of her fingertips that massaged his jaw in circles. “Be still, my chakra can affect your blood circulation, so I have to reactivate it.”

“You should have.” He told her. “You could catch a cold.”

She just sighed, “Be _still,_ ” she commanded him, “and I didn’t want to bother you… back then,” she added quickly, “I knew you wanted to be alone.”

“Fuck what I wanted.” He responded matter of factly, and she just clicked her tongue at his words, her fingers still massaging his jaw.

And he really didn’t know almost anything about medical ninjutsu or body function in general, but he was almost - _positively_ sure that Ino had already massaged enough, that she really didn’t need to keep going, because he had already regained the sensation in his cheek fifteen circles ago, but like… she wasn’t letting go.

“For what is worth, back in the war...” she whispered, her touch disappearing, but she did not walk away, her lips so dangerously close to him that he wanted to warn her because he was a broken man and she has been already cracked and if this was going to happen it would be just a simple consolation and really none of this will actually fix anything…

“You were already _my_ Hokage.”

She smiled like she didn’t just break him in little pieces, like she didn’t just pulverize every fucking wall inside his mind, kicking the remains far away; she stepped away from him, standing close but far enough to see his reaction. She continued to smile brightly while he was trying to wake from his coma.

His mind was blank.

Then, without even asking them to, his eyes sank into hers.

“Well,” he whispered, “ _fuck_ , Ino.”

She just had time to open her eyes wide before he smashed his lips against hers.

And no, it didn’t fix their problems, but god, _it felt good_.

 


End file.
